A blog by Dr Lin Day

About Lin

Dr Lin Day

Founder of multi-award award winning Baby Sensory, Dr Lin Day (PhD, M.Phil, PGCE, BSc, Dip Ed, SRN), is one of the UK’s leading parenting experts and a renowned author within the field of childcare and education. Lin has over 35 years of practical experience working with parents and children. Away from work, something that happens not enough if you ask husband and lifelong colleague Howard, she is a doting grandmother, obsessed with her terrier Bow, and currently enjoying a new chapter in life of setting up a second home in Northern France.

In the UK this year, Father’s Day falls on Sunday 18th June. It provides a wonderful opportunity to honour dads and express gratitude for their love, care and support.

Fathers Make a Difference

Dads can add so much to their child’s development. For example, they can:

Encourage exploratory skills, which support the development of independence.

Engage in activities such as tickling, teasing, bouncing, wrestling and rough and tumble play, which increases confidence and self-control.

Add variety and dimension to their child’s experience of the world.

Expand their child’s horizons by playing with toys in non-traditional ways.

Challenge children to find different ways of doing things.

Influence development through direct teaching and daily interaction.

Encourage competition and independence.

Expand vocabulary and language skills through brief and directive talking.

Bring different strengths and styles to their teaching role than mum.

Girls who grow up with a loving, involved father are more likely to have healthy, emotionally balanced relationships with males in later life. Boys who grow up with a loving, involved father are less likely to be aggressive and more likely to make friends at school because they have learned how to channel their masculinity and strength in positive ways.

Studies have repeatedly highlighted the positive role that dads can have in their children’s learning and development. As a result, many schools are pioneering ways to involve them in projects such as cookery, computing, reading, craft, sports, games, maths and other classroom work. Fathers are also being encouraged to contribute to their children’s out-of-school learning. In a world where television and computers often dominate children’s lives, showing an interest in what they do, and helping with homework and reading are more important than ever before.

Absent fathers

Even if the father is unable to spend regular time with his children, they will still benefit from his attention, warmth and affection. He can take them on outings, attend school activities and spend quality time with them.

Giving children love, attention and richness of care is something that all dads can do regardless of whether they are in a committed relationship, single or non-resident. Children grow up so quickly and missed opportunities are lost forever.

Father’s Day

Father’s Day is celebrated all over the world. In the USA, Canada, Southern Ireland and Mexico, Father’s Day is celebrated on the third Sunday in June. In Italy and Spain, Father’s Day is celebrated in the third week of March. In Australia, Father’s Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of September.

In the UK, Sunday 19th June provides a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the unique contribution that dads make to all aspects of their children’s lives.